Taipans to halt run of fouls

SNAKES coach Mike Kelly has a simple catch cry about how his team should play defence - be physical without fouling.

While his group are trying to live by that mantra, they have not got it quite right in their first four games of the campaign.

In their past three games, the Taipans have been called for 33 more fouls than their opponents, which has led to a staggering 61 more free-throw attempts, giving up 46 more points from the charity stripe in games they lost by a combined 27 points.

With reigning NBL champions Melbourne United heading to Cairns on Saturday night, guard DJ Newbill says keeping their hands out against Melbourne will be critical.

"We want to make an effort to be aggressive but we cannot control the fouls," the former NZ Breaker said.

"We cannot control how the game is called, we just need to play hard and this week we have made a real emphasis on showing our hands on defence just so we cannot get too many."

First-year coach Kelly, who will face his old club for the first time on Saturday, says he is in constant conversation with the NBL about how referees are calling games.

"We have been called for a lot of fouls so we need to do a better job of realising what a foul is," Kelly said.

"That is an ongoing thing.

"Some of it is adjusting to how games are called, being disciplined and not having our hands in,

"But it has been a focus for us.

"I like to have an open dialogue with the league and getting clarification on calls all the time."